PM Modi’s second official visit to Australia is scheduled for late May to attend the strategically important Quad meeting with American President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Following his official engagements, Mr Modi will make time to meet with his compatriots in Sydney, like he did on his previous visit here in 2014. His meets with the diaspora are usually eagerly awaited and very well attended.
On Tuesday 23 May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the local diaspora in Sydney. A local community organisation by the name of Indian Australia Diaspora Foundation is reportedly organising a grand reception to celebrate the Prime Minister’s first official trip to Australia since 2014.
The IADF has extended an invitation to organisations and individuals to register their interest in attending “A Community Reception in Honour of the Prime Minister of India.”
Its website states, “The Indian Australian Diaspora Foundation will organise and host a community reception to honour the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, during his upcoming visit to Australia. The reception has been organized with the support of Australia-based Welcome Partner Organisations and local volunteers. More information about the event will be announced shortly.”
It adds that the venue and time will be announced soon.
It is widely expected that the function will take place at Qudos Bank Arena (previously known as Acer Arena) at Sydney Olympic Park, the very same venue of the 2014 mega event.
Approximately 20,000 people had attended then to welcome him.
But with the growth in numbers, the demand to attend will only grow, though the capacity of Qudos is about 21,000.
The IADF-organised event has invited various organisations to participate as “Welcome Partners.”
An email sent to one such organisation states, “Please make sure that you have thoroughly read and understood your information packs to understand the process before sending this email out. For any questions or support to help your members apply online to register their interest in event passes, please contact your relevant liaison from the IADF Community Registration Team.”
“A maximum of 1 + 4 = 5 people can be registered at one time. Groups/families who would like to sit together, must register together. A parent or guardian must accompany all children under the age of 16 during the event. Registration alone DOES NOT guarantee you a pass,” reads the email, adding, “You will need to present a physical or online Pass (if successful) and a government issued photo identification for entry into the venue. If details do not match, entry will be denied. Invitations are NOT transferable. There will be a multi-step verification and re-confirmation process before the event.”
No contact details are provided, and no office bearers are listed.
It is expected that more details will be forthcoming regarding PM Modi’s Australia Visit from the office of the Consulate General of India (Sydney).
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